Tomorrow is the feast of Saint Gregory the Great (540-605).
He lived at a time of great change.
The Roman Empire had crumbled in Western Europe. The ‘barbarians’ were taking up more territory.
Gregory was a great administrator and organiser. He also had very good people skills.
He used these skills well when he was the civil prefect of Rome.
He became a monk and was ordained a deacon.
Eventually, he was elected pope, the first monk to hold this office.
He used his organisational and other skills to protect the church during these turbulent political times. He related well to the new political leaders for the
the benefit of the church.
He was also a missionary and sent Saint Augustine (of Canterbury) to England as a leader of a missionary group of monks. They helped in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.
He was a man of his time who used his skills and gifts for the mission of the church.
He called himself ‘the servant of the servants of Christ’.
We all have our skills and are invited to use them for the spreading of the gospel and the good news of Christ.